I am periodically reminded of this famous quote from Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks. I often remind others of this quote. I anticipate I will use the quote this morning during a webinar with over 70 PK-12 school educators when we talk about best practices in brand + social media. Why? Because it captures what branding is all about. Branding is not a campaign. It is not a logo. Branding is not an event. Those are solutions and channels to communicate the essence of your organization. Your brand.
Branding is the process of aligning our internal culture with our external reputation. That seems reasonable. Why is it so hard? Because most people and most organizations do not want to think in lifetime terms, they relegate branding to a campaign. Even a one-year process is too much for some to digest, even marketers. Sometimes mostly marketers. But for those who commit to the idea of a process and that process being forever, the chances of a brand being around forever is much more realistic.
Sometimes people do not want to think beyond the time frame that they anticipate being with the organization. Sometimes organizations do not want to think long-term because they want to make money today. Unfortunately strategic plans then go out the window. But, when organizations like Starbucks develop a brand strategy that engages their employees first, customers second and investors third, they are able to effectively recruit and retain brand champions. When this happens they just might be around during our lifetime, and beyond.
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